Bryant decides against running

Bryant decides against running

Family issues force him to leave District 5 race

By PETER GUINTA
peter.guinta@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/13/08

District 5 County Commissioner Jim Bryant announced Thursday that family issues will force him to withdraw as a candidate for re-election to a fourth term.

"I've been contemplating this a long time," Bryant said. "I've got to take care of my family first."

He said he'd missed two critical votes -- on the county charter and on fire assessments -- and has missed too many County Commission meetings.

"It's time for me to back off and let someone else do it," he said.

His withdrawal may mean that other announced commission candidates might slide over to the District 5 race and go against two other Republican challengers -- Ken Bryan and Gary McMahon -- already there.

Bryant said he knows at least one candidate "mulling that over."

His term ends in November, and Bryant said he will serve until then.

He wants to be remembered as a commissioner who always considered the less-fortunate and how he could make their quality of life better.

"The bondage of poverty really traps people," he said. "If we as elected officials don't try to improve their quality of life, we have failed in what we were supposed to do. We have to reach out and help them."

Some projects he was proudest of include:

* Closing the county landfill in 2000, which reduced garbage assessments significantly.

* Organizing a single drug store that delivered to disburse county medications.

* Initiating a move toward building more affordable housing by purchasing 366 abandoned lots in West Augustine and giving many to Habitat for Humanity and selling others to affordable housing developers at low prices.

* Helping organize the initial homeless coalition.

* Being instrumental in getting Flagler Hospital to sell the building now housing the Health & Human Services building for $5.5 million rather than the $10 million the hospital was asking. It almost became a Target, he said.

"But the hospital lowered the price because they felt they were making an investment in the community," he said.

For years, Bryant was considered the go-to guy on the commission on health issues.

He's proud that St. Johns County has been recognized as having the best-run foster care program in Florida and that the Sunshine Bus system run by the County on Aging just received an award as the No. 1 bus system in the country.

"We have a unique county," he said. "We're so far ahead of everyone else."

Bryant successfully fought against other commissioners' attempts to trim the budget by privatizing health care.

"I want to preserve the system of care we have in place," he said. "When a private company has to cut back, it sees fewer patients or provides less service. Those are the people who can least afford a cut in service."

He noted that when he got on the commission in 1996, health care got $1.5 million a year in county money.

"It hasn't gone up since," he said. "We've got the infrastructure in place. Let's use it."

Bryant has drawn the most criticism over consistent votes to support development applications.

"I've been maligned, accused of this or that," he said. "But I try to apply the Comprehensive Plan fairly and evenly across the board."


Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/061308/news_061308_021.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record